What was your First AG Brew?

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RLinNH

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I'd like to Brew up a Lager as I have a Johnson Control and an empty Freezer that says I can do it. My first AG brew weekend is this weekend coming, but I have yet to find a Grain Bill, or a recipe that is suitable. I'd like to Primary Ferment around 60-55 degrees, then Lager from their. I have yet to find a recipe, that is simple, for my first AG Brew session that is along these guidelines. Any Help?
 
Kolsh

10-20% wheat
the rest Gearman pilsner malt

German hops
Low bitterness
Little to no hop flavor
No hop aroma

1.049-1.053 OG

low mash temp, below 150. single infusion.

around 60* primary 1-2 wk
about 50* secondary 3-5 wk

And of course Kolsh yeast
 
THose fermentation temps call for an altbier, long trail ale clone since your from new england.
 
If this is your first AG brew, then why don't you do up a quick-fermenting ale. Believe me, it is going to kill to have to wait weeks and weeks and weeks for that lager to finish! I suggest a mild ale or ordinary bitter or simple pale ale something along those lines. These can be ready to drink in as little as two weeks, and they are easy to brew.
 
Mine was a brown ale. I had a fly land in the wort while i was sparging. I just scooped him out. The beer turned out really good besides that.
 
Barleywine - didn't know what the hell I was doing, but it turned out awesome.
You can't beat dumb luck, as they say.
 
My first was a fast fermenting pale Ale that looking back was or has been amazing.
so full, round luscious, like a georgous woman. So appreciated. That's a beer to really get positive results with. I think the slow ness of a lager will just kill you also.
AS a two year noobie I say brew something that is smooth, great mouth feel with a quick result so you can enjoy your work as soon as reasonable. Do your lager when you have something else to fall back on as far as result experiance. I too am kind of to the lager point myself. I have brewed 13-14 sessions in 2 years and now have a new fridge to convert to a lagering fermentor also but need another carboy to park the Alt or Kolsh I would brew for some time. I would like to do some mead also but just haven't done it yet.

Oscar,
 
My first AG was about a month or so ago. It was an English Bitter from Austin Homebrew. It's my best ever homebrew and one of the best beers I've tasted. :rockin:
 
FlyGuy said:
If this is your first AG brew, then why don't you do up a quick-fermenting ale. Believe me, it is going to kill to have to wait weeks and weeks and weeks for that lager to finish! I suggest a mild ale or ordinary bitter or simple pale ale something along those lines. These can be ready to drink in as little as two weeks, and they are easy to brew.



Reason I am looking to Lager is that my Basement is at about 62-64 degrees, while my livng area in the House is at about 74ish. So, I'd have to find a Yeast that can primary between 70-75, or between 60-65. Hence, I was thinking Lager. Maybe I will use an Ale Yeast. I gotta do some research...
 
RLinNH said:
Reason I am looking to Lager is that my Basement is at about 62-64 degrees, while my livng area in the House is at about 74ish. So, I'd have to find a Yeast that can primary between 70-75, or between 60-65. Hence, I was thinking Lager. Maybe I will use an Ale Yeast. I gotta do some research...
OK, that makes sense. Sorry I missed that.

But you should be able to find some ale yeasts that will go that low. I know that WhiteLabs WLP001 will. Other American Ale yeasts will probably be fine at this temp, too, if you pitch them at 70F.
 
RLinNH said:
Reason I am looking to Lager is that my Basement is at about 62-64 degrees, while my livng area in the House is at about 74ish. So, I'd have to find a Yeast that can primary between 70-75, or between 60-65. Hence, I was thinking Lager. Maybe I will use an Ale Yeast. I gotta do some research...


Remember the fermentation will raise the temp of beer 5-7f above ambient room temp, so your 62-64f basement will be perfect for an ale.
Also if it's your first AG keep it simple(I didn't) so as to cut down on the chances of mistakes. If I could go back and do it again I'd start with my house ESB

91.5% pale
5.0% Fl corn
3.5% 50-60 crystal

London ale yeast

It is much like a Fuller's ESB

My first 3 AG's were big Belgians that took forever to finish that's why I would start with something simple
 
Papa Charlie's "Good Life Pale Ale," from Complete Joy. I just bought a vial of "Cry Havoc," the yeast strain that Papazian has used pretty much continuously since 1983, so I'm thinking of re-brewing it with that.
 
First AG was a Summer Ale clone. I've since repeated and improved it, but mighty fine for my first attempt at AG.
 
Sweet stout here. It turned out really nicely, but my subsequent 3 AGs had some problems. It took me some time to get my process dialed in.
 
Mine was a Brune Abbey Ale. Not the best. Turned out kinda watery for some reason. And the harvested yeast was kinda...off. Not bad, just off. It turned out a tad sourish-extracty in the end, even though it was AG. No worries, though. My second AG was a Bohemian Pilsner...my first lager, and one of my favorites. Check my recipe pulldown. It would make a nice first AG, and a nice first lager.
 
As my first AG, I redid my Apex Amber, a beer that I'd originally made as an extract+steeped grains version. I figured this would give me a good point of comparison between the two methods. I did end up having to use a slightly different yeast strain, so it won't be a direct 1:1 match, but still should provide some insights. The AG Apex Amber is in the 2ndary now. I'm eager to give it a try. It'll have to be pretty damn good to surpass the first one, which came out far better than I had any right to expect. Both versions of the recipe come from John Palmer's excellent How to Brew.

Chad
 
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My first AG was an English bitter I called Bitter Woman. Nice, malty, smooth.

That beer started my tradition of naming all my beers after my wife: Bean Sidhe (Banshee) Irish Red, Dour Lass Wee Heavy, Queen of Darkness Porter, Sweet Sibyl Brown Ale, Golden Harpy IPA, Lieblings Berchta Doppelbock, etc. etc. etc.
 
My first was an IPA, Route 66 on BYO. It was fairly simple and had greast instructions. I lucked out and hit all temps and times exactly. OG was higher by .07 and FG was lower by a couple of points. My Dad still will not shut up about how great it is. If you knew my dad, you would be impressed by that.
 
My first "true" AG was my last one, an All-Simcoe Pale Ale. Tastes great and piney, but I won't transfer until Saturday when I'm going to brew my second, Mike McDole's American Brown Ale.

I did mash 5.5, 9, and 10 lbs of grain previously before this, however. I just needed extract to reach my desired O.G., so they're still technically PMs.
 
RLinNH said:
Reason I am looking to Lager is that my Basement is at about 62-64 degrees, while my livng area in the House is at about 74ish. So, I'd have to find a Yeast that can primary between 70-75, or between 60-65. Hence, I was thinking Lager. Maybe I will use an Ale Yeast. I gotta do some research...
I’d recommend a Kolsch. It was my first AG and I had the same circumstances as you. I was able to “cool condition” my secondary at around 60 degrees and that is a very favorable temperature for a kolsch yeast.

It turned out crystal clear.

Another consideration for your first AG; everybody kept telling me that until you go all-grain, you’ll never really get that light colored beer to turn out…light colored. I figured, I’d brewed enough dark extracts that I wanted to see what a “real” beer looked like.
 
niquejim said:
faber said:
That beer started my tradition of naming all my beers after my wife


If she's anything like those names DON'T make the homicidal hefe:D

She's a moody one, but has a sense of humor about it. She actually brags to the other "homebrew widows" about it.

Hefe is her favorite and she wants me to have one ready for her this spring. As long as it's not homicidal, eh?

Cheers, mate:mug:
 
i don't remember. i'd have to dig back through my terrible brew notes, if they're not all moldy...;)
 
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